


A Good Man

by rackwire



Category: Grand Theft Auto V
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, Drugs, F/M, Family Drama, Gen, I know this would never happen but stick with me, Lets just pretend that none of them age, Marriage, Non-Canon Relationship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reconciliation, Reconciliation Sex, References to Drugs, Reunions, Romance, Teenage Rebellion, Teenagers, Yes its more about romance than family shit, non-canon plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23817268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rackwire/pseuds/rackwire
Summary: Set post-Ending C. "It's funny, 'cause... As the years pass, you just look more and more like him." She was quiet. "And I'm just over here hopin' that's not 'cause you're getting angrier and angrier." | She's the spitting image of her father, months away from her sweet sixteen. Her Mother desperately wishes for the family she never had, but is it too late for them to find it?  Has it been there all along?
Relationships: Trevor Philips/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	A Good Man

**Author's Note:**

> Hey. I heartily apologize for neglecting my sweet, sweet project, It Won't End Well. I know an update is long, long overdue and I have every intention to deliver, but life has repeatedly interfered with my ability to write clearly. This is a project I don't expect to gain much momentum, but I still have every intention of following through with. This story will be short, but it is in some ways a means to light a fire under my ass regarding IWEW because I have already planned the rest of the chapters as well as the first half of a sequel. I hope you all like this, and please comment if you do! :) 
> 
> (And in case you're wondering, there are going to be plenty of chapters from the Wife's point of view, as this is her story more than the Daughter's. This is a romance story.)

Penny knew her father wasn't a good man. She'd never tried to convince herself otherwise. 

She never asked him questions for the fear that he'd be too honest; she'd suffer her mother's lies before she'd face the truth. 

She knew Mom would tell her sooner or later. 

Penny was 15 when her grandfather passed away. Her mother had to leave immediately, her father had to stay on business, and her? She had school. 

Descending the steps of the high school she'd grown to despise, her eyes narrowed at the sight of the black sedan awaiting her when she'd been called out of class. She approached it hesitantly, only gripping the handle once she'd recognized the man inside. "Michael? What's going on?" 

"Your mother had to leave town on pretty short notice. Thought I'd be the one to break the news, kid." 

Her brows furrowed, but she said nothing as she climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up. It was only once they'd gotten out of the parking lot that he spoke again.

"Your grandpa passed this morning." 

She frowned, but only nodded in response. He watched her, curious but understanding. "I know you weren't close, but... Well, they were. I've known your mom for a while and anyone who's ever been close to her knows she was a daddy's girl through and through before she..." 

He stopped there and she sighed. "Are you guys ever going to tell me how they met? I know dad's a bad guy. I know you're a bad guy. You don't even hide it anymore. What's the big deal?" 

He glanced at her, chuckling to himself before responding. "They met 'cause your dad's an idiot. That's all I'm at liberty to say. That aside, though-- really, kid? A family member kicks it and all you wanna do is ask about your parents' relationship?"

She shrugged. "I only met him a few times. Dad's never liked me flying anywhere without him, and Mom... She don't like me flying, period." 

Michael sighed at that, reliving distant memories far beyond her ability to recall. "She's got her reasons, P. Trust me." 

She pursed her lips and stared into her lap, focusing on the worn fabric of her jeans. "Did Dad almost kill me or something? Like when I was little?" 

He snickered at that comment, throwing his head back a little with the laugh it provoked. "You know your dad too well for your own good."

She wasn't amused, though. "I'm serious, Mike. Why doesn't she let me fly?"

Having stopped at a red light, he turns to her with a brow raised. "What are you talkin' about? You've flown lots of times, kid. And I know your dad would fly you cross-country in a fuckin' heartbeat if you asked him to. What are you askin' me?'

"I just want to know what he did," she pressed, fists forming in her lap. 

"Easy there, Miss Philips," he raised his palms in mock surrender. "Listen-- I know things with your dad lately have been..."

"Stressful. Tense. Nonexistent because he hasn't carried an actual conversation with me in weeks. I bet he asked you to pick me up from school. He probably asked you to keep me fed this week, too, cause he's too fucking ashamed of himself to--," 

"Hey," he said abruptly, cutting her off. "Don't talk about your father like that. He tries his fuckin' best, P, you know that. He's been a little caught up in the biz lately, but I promise it's--,"

"This is your neighborhood, Michael. Why are we here?" 

He sighed, the car stopping just short of his driveway, how he usually parked. "Believe it or not, Pen, he's actually coming for you this evening. Amanda's out of town right now, too, thank _god_ \-- I mean. _Unfortunately_."

She couldn't help chuckling a little at that, almost forgetting the feelings that had been clinging to her for weeks in the presence of such a close family friend. They'd been close at one point, but time pulled them apart. All of them, her mother included. 

"So," he continued, stepping out of the vehicle. She followed in the action, tugging her backpack over her shoulder. "You wanna grab some lunch or somethin'? Spend some quality time with Uncle Mike?" 

"I've literally never called you that," she laughed, following him as he approached his home. "I really just wanna lay down for a while, honestly. I'm tired." 

He looked at her with a smirk. "You can do all your layin' down when you get home and try to avoid your father's very existence. C'mon, let's go do something." 

\----

"So you're really not sad at all that your grandpa's gone? Thought they loved you down south?"

She scoffed, a roll of her eyes accompanying the incredulous laugh that tumbled out of her. The pair sat in a shabby diner not far from Paleto Bay; Michael insisted on eating there despite the drive. He liked the aesthetic, he said; she knew it just reminded him of old movies. She thought one might have been filmed there, but she hadn't the motivation to ask. 

"Well, they do, but..." She started, cut off by an exasperated groan on Michael's end. 

"Don't tell me. Your father's attempts to turn you into anything but a typical starry-eyed citizen of Los Santos failed him, huh? You don't like it there?"

"No, it's not that," she insisted, glancing around the small restaurant. "He was from Liberty City, ya know? I swear he can smell crime. None of Mom's family really knows about Dad's... Hobbies. But he's never looked at me right. He's never looked at Dad right, either." 

Michael nodded, considering. "He still loved you. I'm sure of it." 

She looked down at her abandoned plate, mostly fries at this point. She'd never liked the fries at this diner. Who was she to complain about a free meal, though? 

_My mom taught me better._

"They were fighting last night." She said, eyes cast downward still. 

"Who? Your mom and dad?"

"Yeah. They wanted... Mom wants to move back home. Take me with her."

Michael felt his heart twist in his chest slightly at that, knowing three things to be true:

1\. No way in hell would Trevor leave the desert and abandon his business-- what was left of it, anyway. 

2\. No way in hell could Michael stand to see the girl he'd practically helped the two of them raise leave the state. 

3\. If Penny's mom left him... What the hell would he do? Turn back to crime? 

Actually, four things. _No better reason to move home than to realize the time left with your real family is limited._

Luckily, he'd never experienced that pull with his own blood back in North Yankton; he could only assume that was the case with Trevor, too. 

"And your dad's not havin' that, huh?" 

She shook her head, pulling at her phone to check the time. "No," she confirmed with a sigh. "He's not." 

\----

After a stop or two at various stores just to pass the time, they were on the road back to Michael's abode. Penny's dad was due to meet them in half an hour and, she assumed, try to explain the situation from there. 

"You used to look just like your mom, ya know," he said to her after a moment of silence. The ride back from the bay would take them a while; her dad might have them beat in time, honestly. He continued. "But when you'd get fussy, _jeeesus. Spitting image of your dad."_

She chuckled a little. "I've heard that before. I only believe it from you, though."

"It's funny, cause... As the years pass, you just look more and more like him." 

She was quiet. 

"And I'm just over here hopin' that's not 'cause you're getting angrier and angrier."

More quiet. 

"Take it from the epitome of a bitter old man," he said. "Bein' perpetually pissed off at the world? It ain't no way to live." 

"One time my dad told me I was too much like you," she chuckled after a while. "It pissed him off." 

"Yeah, I bet it did," he laughed in response, his fingers gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. His cynical view of the world wasn't one he'd hoped to bestow upon a kid. He found himself feeling sorry for her, feeling like she'd been failed in this life. He vaguely recalled the night her own mother had approached him, sobbing with the news. Trevor had knocked her up. 

In the back of his mind, he knew she was right.

He knew she was right to be worried. Was this the life to bring a child into? Could she raise a child in not only this world, but their world? 

But he'd assured her anyway. Swore his own and his wife's help to them if they ever needed it. 

Lo and behold, they did. 

"Am I at least a pretty version of my dad?" She asked, only slightly humorous in her tone. 

He could barely find it within him to chuckle. But he did, for her. "I swear it." 


End file.
